The caulking gun art is very well developed with caulking guns presently available in a variety of lengths. Typical caulking guns have a chamber for receiving a disposable cartridge of caulking compound, which chamber is attached to a trigger assembly which advances a piston into the cartridge to expel caulking compounds or other extrudable material from the nozzle of the cartridge. Examples of the types of caulking guns which are available in regular and extended lengths are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,512,684; 3,726,440; and 4,262,822. These prior art guns, are well suited for certain standard applications but they do not meet all of the needs of the art where caulking material is to be applied at very extended lengths and at difficult to apply angles such as "around corners".
Accordingly, it is to an improvements in existing guns which will overcome the shortcomings of the prior art that the present invention is directed. More specifically, the extender apparatus of the present invention enables standard caulking guns to be provided with greater length by the assembly of one or more of the new and improved extenders to the front faces of existing caulking guns. In addition the new and improved extender apparatus allows the forwardmost end of the gun to be cocked, canted, or otherwise disposed at an angle to the central longitudinal axis of symmetry of the conventional gun to caulk at angles and around corners.
In accordance with the principles of the present invention, these and other objects and advantages of the present invention may be obtained by assembling the new caulking gun extender, through a selectively hingeable connection, to the front end of a conventional caulking gun by a special bracket and providing the extender with a flexible piston shaft. The bracket may be adjusted to hold the extender either co-axially with the central piston axis of the gun or in a desired angular relation with regard to the body of the gun. The new and improved extender has a clamping mechanism for attaching a unique, flexible piston shaft to the forwardmost end of the existing gun piston. In accordance with the principles of the present invention, the flexible piston shaft of the caulking gun extender is comprised of a series of articulated rod links, which enable caulking pressure to be applied by the main piston of the caulking gun to the extended flexible piston of the extender at an angle from the longitudinal axis of the gun piston shaft. This enables the gun effectively to be "bent" and caulking compound to be delivered "around corners" which would otherwise be inaccessible to "straight" extended or elongated caulking guns.
For a more complete understanding of the principles of the present invention and a better appreciation of the attendant advantages of its use, reference should be made to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.